To Sleep
by SweetDragonSeeker
Summary: Ren had always been the one to comfort her when she couldn't sleep. Going to Beacon didn't change that. Ren and Nora friendship. Romance if you squint.


**Don't own RWBY**

**So my friend bought RWBY as soon as it came out on DVD, and made me watch it, and I liked it. So here I am writing this. It's not good, as I've had writer's block lately, but I **_**had **_** to write something. Enjoy. **

**SSS**

"Ren?" Nora's head popped up over the side of the bed, bobbing back and forth as she waited for him to respond.

"Hm?" he didn't roll over or look at her, just answered, the sound coming from deep in his throat.

"Are you awake?"

"Mm."

Taking that as a 'yes,' Nora clambered up onto the bed behind him, sitting on her knees, and brushed a hand against his hair, just touching the surface rather than running her fingers through it, as though that would be too intimate, more so than crawling into bed with him.

"I can't sleep." She chirruped, leaning down to rest her chin against his shoulder, and he let out a long breath. He didn't open his eyes. Then, in a gesture that anyone else would have interpreted as 'so what,' he held up a hand. Nora made a happy sound and lay down, cuddling against his back like a big, warm kitten. She reached up and took his hand, grasping his fingers tightly, and he drew her arm around himself, turning her hand in his and pressing her palm against his chest, entwining their fingers.

Her hand sandwiched between his hand and his heartbeat, Nora sighed contentedly and lifted her chin enough to kiss his ear before snuggling more firmly into his back. After a moment of stillness during which Ren almost managed to slip back to sleep, Nora shook her head, nose brushing lightly against his nape.

"Your hair tickles." She giggled, and he rolled his eyes behind his lids, squeezing her hand.

"Go to sleep, Nora."

She giggled again and tucked her face into the hollow of his shoulder.

"G'night Ren."

He felt it when she fell asleep; a slight change in her breathing and loosening of her muscles as she relaxed into slumber, and he took the opportunity to shift, rolling over carefully. She whimpered at the movement, but didn't wake. He glanced down at their hands, then at her face. Her nose was scrunched up, and he suppressed a laugh, replacing it with a quiet smile. She had been coming to him for bad dreams and insomnia almost since they'd met, and the sound or feel of his heartbeat had never failed to soothe her restlessness.

He may not have shown it, but he'd been just as nervous about the selection of teams as she had been. The thought of her seeking solace from someone else on her sleepless nights didn't sit well in his mind. She might be an annoying, overly-chipper girl, but she was _his_ annoying, overly-chipper girl, and he didn't like the idea of someone else holding her when it had always been him.

Shaking his head at his own thoughts, he leaned down, pressing a brief, yet lingering kiss to her forehead. Then he rolled over and closed his eyes, her hand once more held pressed against his heart.

Nora woke to sunshine on her face and sat up abruptly before remembering where she was and that there was no class that day. Sometime during the night, Ren had rolled away from her, or she had rolled away from him, and now he lay on his stomach, head pillowed on his arms and his face turned toward her, dark strands of hair bisecting sections of his pale skin. The other two members of their team were already gone, probably to wherever it was they went when they wanted to be by themselves together. She swung her legs over the edge of the bed and stretched, reveling in the depth of her sleep; she hadn't even dreamt.

Ren watched through slitted eyes as Nora got up and wandered out of the room, probably in search of something containing copious amounts of sugar that she could consume for breakfast. When she'd gone, he rolled over, facing away from the window in search of a few more hours of sleep. He'd almost succeeded in falling asleep again when the door banged open, bouncing off the wall, and Nora galloped back inside, practically leaping back onto his bed and flinging herself over him so that she could huddle between him and the wall, giggling madly.

"What are you doing?" he asked wearily, propping himself reluctantly on an elbow. She just glanced down and shook her head at him, trying to control her laughter.

"Pyrr- Pyrrha and Jaune," she gasped between guffaws, and he raised a brow before letting himself fall onto his back. Obviously he wouldn't be getting any more sleep today. Nora crouched beside him, still snickering.

Then footsteps thumped in the hallway outside, growing nearer, and Nora squeaked, dropping down and wrapping her arms around him, hiding her face against his chest as though if she couldn't see Jaune and Pyrrha as they stalked into the room, then they couldn't see her either. They were both, Ren noted, splattered with something dark and sticky, and he could smell the sugary sweet scent that only came from syrup. He glanced down at the top of Nora's head.

"What did you do?"

Her only response was to laugh harder into his chest.

"She threw it at us!" Jaune complained, glowering at Nora, but seeming unwilling to bother Ren in order to get to the villain. As if removing the oversized-starfish clinging to his chest would bother him much. Jaune moved toward his dresser for a clean shirt. Pyrrha lifted a lock of hair, attempting to pick apart the individual strands that had been glued together by the sugar.

Ren let his head loll back, and closed his eyes again, listening as the others found clean shirts and Nora's giggles finally trailed off. When the door had closed once more, Nora loosened her grip a tiny bit and turned her head, resting her cheek against his collarbone, still giggling intermittently.

"Nora." Ren mumbled irritably. "I'm trying to sleep."

"I know." She nuzzled closer and let out a happy sigh. "Sleep."

Ren considered trying to reason with her. Then he shook his head and rolled over, wrapping an arm around her in hopes of holding her still.

"Don't wiggle."

"Okay." she replied. Her toes twitched, brushing against his.

"Nora."

"Sorry Ren...Ren?"

"Hm."

"I'm glad we're on the same team."

"Mm"

**SSS**

**Ren and Nora are adorable. Anyway. Later y'all. ~Seeker**


End file.
